Education Law Article 23-A - 
SERVICE CENTERS FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING 

§1120 - Declaration of intent. 
§1121 - Service centers for independent living; purpose and duties. 
§1122 - Education department; responsibilities. 
§1123 - Regulations. 
§1124 - Distribution of funds.
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§ 1120. Declaration  of intent.   
Persons with disabilities comprise a large percentage of New York's total 
population. The legislature  hereby finds  and declares that action is 
necessary to assist these individuals to integrate and live more independently 
in the community.  Since  their inception,  service  centers  for  independent  
living have enhanced the ability of persons with disabilities to pursue an 
independent and active lifestyle within their community.   In order  to  achieve  
this,  it  is necessary  for the state to provide funding to maintain existing 
service centers designed to promote independent  living  and  to  encourage  the 
establishment  of  new  centers.  In  addition, the office of vocational 
rehabilitation should have the  responsibility  and  authority  for  the 
encouragement  of  the  planning,  development,  funding, evaluation and monitoring 
of such service centers.

§ 1121. Service centers for independent living; purpose and duties. 
1. A service center for independent living shall be a community based 
nonresidential program designed to promote independent living for persons 
with disabilities. (a) Such center shall: (i) be a private not-for-profit 
corporation, pursuant to subdivision five of paragraph a of section one 
hundred two of the not-for-profit corporation law; provided, however, that 
persons with disabilities comprise at least fifty-one percent of the 
membership of the board of directors; (ii) be staffed by persons experienced 
in assisting persons with disabilities; (iii) provide services designed to 
meet the needs of persons with disabilities, including such services as 
assisting persons with disabilities to obtain housing, employment referral, 
transportation referral, attendant care, independent living skills, peer 
counseling, advocacy services, job training, health care, homemaker services, 
and other such services as approved by the commissioner; (iv) train personnel 
for the purpose of attendant care in assisting and serving persons with 
disabilities; and (v) serve persons with disabilities. (b) Such center may 
also, but need not limit itself to, provide disability awareness programs, 
peer counseling, role modeling and any other appropriate services within 
elementary and secondary schools. 2. Such service centers shall not be 
established or operated as a residential or housing facility. 3. Such 
service centers shall make maximum use of existing resources available to 
persons with disabilities and shall not duplicate any existing services or 
programs, to the extent that such services or programs are available through 
other state sources to meet the needs of persons with disabilities. Such 
centers shall however provide necessary information and referral to assist a 
person with a disability in obtaining such services and coordinate where 
possible the delivery of such services to persons with disabilities. 4. Such 
service centers shall be in compliance with all applicable local laws and 
ordinances.

§ 1122. Education department; responsibilities. 
The department shall assist individuals and organizations in the planning 
and establishment of such service centers. The department shall ensure program 
accountability and shall monitor and evaluate such centers. 

§ 1123. Regulations. 
The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary for the 
implementation of this article. 

§ 1124. Distribution of funds. 
1. Service centers for independent living shall be funded out of appropriations 
available for such purposes to the extent of the entire approved budget of such 
centers. 2. Budgets submitted by service centers shall be approved in accordance 
with regulations of the commissioner, subject to approval of the director of the 
budget. 3. Service centers shall be located in the cities of Albany, Buffalo, 
Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, White Plains, Binghamton, Kingston, Poughkeepsie, 
Jamestown, Yonkers, the counties of Queens, Kings, Nassau, Bronx, Richmond and 
New York and the township of Brookhaven with a satellite center in Central Islip 
in the county of Suffolk. 4. Additional service centers shall be located in the 
cities of Niagara Falls, Olean, Troy, Amsterdam, Newburgh, Corning, Ithaca, 
Cortland, Auburn, Watertown, Plattsburgh, Batavia, Massena and Glens Falls, the 
counties of Delaware and Rockland, the county of Orange, in either the city of 
Middletown or Port Jervis or in the town of Deerpark, Greenville, Mount Hope, 
Warwick or Wawayanda or in the village of Goshen, and in the county of New York 
to serve the Harlem community.